Introduction
“The Relationship Between Post therapeutic CBT Skills Usage and Follow-up Outcomes of Internet-delivered CBT”, authored by Nora Eilert and others, suggests an analysis and research area less researched within mental health treatment outcomes. This study is centered around the most significant but yet overlooked component of the effectiveness of internet-delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), namely by exploring the role of employing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) skills during the period after treatment on the overall results for individuals experiencing depression and anxiousness. This research works on a gap between what is discussed in the existing literature and the specific aspect of analyzing the period between the start of the treatment and using the learned treatment skills and their outcomes months later. This study speculates that there is an immediate linear correlation between the frequency of using past-therapeutic CBT skills after treatment and the betterment of the clinical outcomes and reduction of anxiety, depression, and dysfunction. On the other hand, it analyses the possible lagged effect.
Purpose and Hypothesis
In the study by Eilert et al. (2023), an ignored but critical area for the efficiency of internet based-CBT (iCBT) is studied, which is none other than the level of skills in CBT used by individuals after therapy in the maintenance phase that impacts long-term outcomes for people with anxiety and depression issues. Hence, this investigation is critical since the ability of such interventions to remain effective despite the challenges a person might face over time is one of the critical points that one must remember when it comes to the success of mental health interventions. The fundamental question of the study suggests that both the psychotherapy continuation skills and the time of their use determine the clinical outcome in patients. In their second hypothesis, the researchers assumed that a greater rate of the iCBT skills’ practice six months after the treatment termination would be connected with lower symptoms level of anxiety and depression and with lesser degrees of impairments of functional capacities.
Methodology
The study methodology by Nora Eilert and her colleagues demonstrates the thorough and rigorous approach undertaken to thoroughly look into the subtle impacts of CBT process-exertion skills execution versus clinical outcomes following internet-based delivery of CBT.
Study Design and Setting
The present research was situated in the design of a randomized controlled trial (RCT), testing iCBT as a tool used in a routine setting for patients experiencing anxiety and depression. The underlying principle of the particular study was utilizing longitudinal data incessantly across various follow-up points—3, 6, 9, and 12 months post-treatment—to examine the correlation between the frequency of CBT skills application and the outcome of mentally ill patients.
Participants and Procedures
For the patient selection decision, clinical evaluations were used for those who are aged adults and whose reported condition is either anxiety or depression with a total score that is above specific thresholds on measures of these conditions. In this research project, precautions were taken to create a safe environment for the participants. This was the primary reason for choosing specific exclusion criteria. This also helped in preserving the integrity of the study. The whole sample of 241 participants was assigned to the iCBT Treatment Group at the end (Eilert et al., 2023). Thus, higher diversity was achieved in this sample as it represents the majority of the society, hampers the generalization of the study’s findings.
Intervention
The iCBT intervention, comprising several modules based on the general principles of CBT, was delivered online, beginning from week one and ending with week 8. I have practised various CBT techniques, from cognitive restructuring and guided relaxation, and a licensed clinician’s feedback supported everyone. The combination of self-guided learning and professional assistance integrates the essential skill of online therapy, which is an approach that requires the person to be flexible and conform to the structure.
Measures
The expected effects of the research were evaluated using a system of indicators dating from a variety of evaluations, like the severity of anxiety and depression occurring, the extent of functional impairment and the frequency of skills applied through CBT. The validated tools, which, among other tools, PHQ-9 for depression, GAD-7 for anxiety, and the Work and Social Adjustment Scale for functional impairment, together with the FATS for the exposure and the CBT skills level, provided a conceptual basis for the performance of CBT.
Analytical Approach
This analysis used cross-lagged panel models to perceive the impact of skill usage in a modern era and understand time lags between soon usage and future outcomes. Combined with the fact that regression analysis can illustrate the change of a variable per other variable over time, this statistical kind aided the researchers in finding the duration a particular variable lasted over another.
Results
Elisabetta’s research creates a compelling paper which looks into the effectiveness of CBT skills acquired in iCBT treatment by increasing the outcomes of patients with anxiety and depression. To put it simply, the authors’ results consideration brings out a significant issue which normally contributes to our mental health improvement during the process of coping with certain issues.
Key Findings
This research unveils the relationship between individual mood disorders, e.g., mood, anxiety, depression, and the psychological interventions used, such as CBT. The study showed a significant inverse relationship between the treatment frequency and outcome. Thus, the results from the follow-up period of 3 months (mm), six months (m6), nine months (m9) and 12 months(m12) showed that over this time, those who used CBT skills more frequently had fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety and had less interference of these disorders on their performing activities. Such results suggest that the active, ongoing application of CBT skills is crucial in immediately managing symptoms post-treatment (Eilert et al., 2023). However, the study did not find consistent lagged effects, indicating that the frequency of skills usage at one point could predict clinical outcomes at a later follow-up.
Analysis of Results
The immediacy of the associations points out the importance of cultivating CBT skills in self-care and symptom regulation outside the rehab setting. All these results conform to the theoretical basis of CBT that, in addition to practicing stable skills, concentrates on the perspectives on the empowerment of patients to take control of their condition through these applied techniques. The outcomes reveal that people who remain involved in CBT skills and sing regular drills to control their symptoms can do that well. Poorly followed-up effectiveness suggests that this raises questions of whether and what influences post-treatment remittance over time.
Implications for the researchers of the future and the practice of today
This outcome is very useful for applied medicine and future studies as well. Such studies reveal that there are necessary steps beyond just examining the impact of CBT-based interventions; these include promoting activities that encompass sustained practice of acquired skills after treatment has ended. This could be providing student booster sessions, follow-up appointments or digital devices that would be used for constant skill re-practicing.
Personal Critique
The investigation of Eilert et al. aimed at filling the gap that has always existed to date but has never been examined, the sustainability of almost entirely web-based cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). The special attention to this aspect of the research on skill usage post-therapeutic CBT provides a detailed perspective on how the employment of learned techniques lets these gains be long-term. Nevertheless, the study’s failure to provide firm leads suggests further research is needed to clarify the temporal interplay between specific skills at a task and therapeutic results. One of the greatest difficulties is that it affects the interaction of many factors responsible for the inertia of therapy effects. If more is needed, it is impossible to delineate the linear relationship between skills usage and symptoms.
Implications for Counseling Psychology
Eilert et al.’s research shows the critical contribution of key clients’ involvement in implementing CBT skills that have initially been raised during iCBT to carrying the gained benefits. This is important and necessary to achieve longer-term impact goals, particularly in the therapeutic techniques within the digital context, whereby therapeutic-client interactions are stationarily limited (Eilert et al., 2023). It was recommended that booster sessions or other supplementary support structures should be introduced to re-energize the skills that had been lost. Such efforts would improve the use and understanding of iCBT interventions and will be long-lasting by keeping the clients regularly practicing those skills in their daily lives, ceasing symptom reoccurrence.
Conclusion
The work done by Eilert et al. is indeed an enormous leap in comprehending how learning to incorporate CBT skills into the after-therapy influences the effectiveness of CBT. Through showing a coincidental association between skill practice and clinical outcomes, the study reveals the proficient use of skills and their short-term effects. At the same time, the study encourages asking questions about the mechanisms that uphold the effects over an extended period. This ambiguity, meanwhile, reflects an equally exciting path for future research, where counseling psychology can look forward to deeper implications for the iCBT as well as the post-therapy practices. It thus lends a chance for the next research focus area to expand on the factors that maintain the application of skills and explore ideal practices that will maximize their impact in changing the community.
Reference
Eilert, N., Wogan, R., Adegoke, A., Earley, C., Duffy, D., Enrique, A., … & Richards, D. (2023). The relationship between posttherapeutic Cognitive Behavior Therapy skills usage and follow‐up outcomes of internet‐delivered Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 79(1), 55-67.https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jclp.23403
write